Flow-down type ice making machine and method of manufacturing ice making rack of the flow-down type ice making machine

ABSTRACT

A flow-down type ice making machine includes an ice making unit and an ice making water supply tube. The ice making unit includes a refrigerant tube connected to a refrigerating machine, air-tightly circulating a refrigerant therein, an ice making rack configured to support the refrigerant tube, including ice molds formed along an outer periphery of the refrigerant tube, an ice making water flow-down portion connected to an upper part of the ice making rack, causing ice making water to flow down to the ice making rack, and an ice cube release member turned about axis thereof parallel with an axis of the refrigerant tube to release each of ice cubes formed on the ice molds. The ice making water supply tube supplies ice making water to the ice making water flow-down portion, and is formed by removably coupling a plurality of ice making cells.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a flow-down type ice making machine causing ice making water to flow down to an ice making rack to form ice cubes in the ice making rack. More particularly, the present invention relates to a configuration of an ice making rack of the ice making machine.

The flow-down type ice making machine is an apparatus causing ice making water to continuously flow down to an ice making rack for making ice cubes, and for example, an apparatus disclosed in WO 2014/105838 filed by the applicant of the present invention is known as the flow-down type ice making machine. The ice making machines normally provide a lineup of multiple models having different ice making rates per unit time depending on use. The flow-down type ice making machines having the ice making rack need to make a preparation of ice making racks having different sizes depending on the ice making rate, and thus, the manufacturing cost tends to be high.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive ice making rack for manufacturing a flow-down type ice making machine. Further, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making rack configured to be partially replaceable. Still further, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making rack configured to be changeable in number of rows.

The present inventors found that an ice making rack of the flow-down type ice making machine constituted by coupling a plurality of ice making cells can provide inexpensive ice making racks having various shapes, thus leading to the completion of the present invention.

The present invention solving the above problems is configured as follows.

[1] A flow-down type ice making machine including:

an ice making unit including:

a refrigerant tube connected to a refrigerating machine, the refrigerant tube configured to air-tightly circulate a refrigerant therein;

an ice making rack configured to support the refrigerant tube, the ice making rack including ice molds formed along an outer periphery of the refrigerant tube;

an ice making water flow-down portion connected to an upper part of the ice making rack, the ice making water flow-down portion configured to cause ice making water to flow down to the ice making rack; and

ice cube release members turned about axes thereof parallel with an axis of the refrigerant tube to release ice cubes formed on the ice molds; and

an ice making water supply tube configured to supply ice making water to the ice making water flow-down portion,

the ice making rack being an ice making rack formed by removably coupling a plurality of ice making cells.

[2] The flow-down type ice making machine according to [1], in which each of the ice making cells is an ice making cell having a refrigerant tube supporting portion configured to support the refrigerant tube, and a fixing-rod insertion hole having an axis perpendicular to a tube axis direction of the refrigerant tube supported by the refrigerant tube supporting portion.

[3] The flow-down type ice making machine according to [1], in which each of the ice making cells is an ice making cell having a coupling portion configured to fit to an adjacent ice making cell.

[4] The flow-down type ice making machine according to claim [2], in which the ice making rack is an ice making rack receiving a fixing rod inserted into the fixing-rod insertion hole of the ice making cell.

[5] The flow-down type ice making machine according to [1], in which the ice making rack is an ice making rack formed by coupling at least three ice making cells.

[6] The flow-down type ice making machine according to [1], in which the ice making rack is an ice making rack formed by coupling at least three ice making cells.

[7] A method of manufacturing an ice making rack of a flow-down type ice making machine according to [1], the method including:

coupling ice making cells each having a refrigerant tube supporting portion configured to support a refrigerant tube, and a fixing-rod insertion hole having an axis perpendicular to a tube axis direction of the refrigerant tube supported by the refrigerant tube supporting portion; and

inserting a fixing rod into the fixing-rod insertion hole.

In the flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice making rack is constituted by coupling the plurality of ice making cells, so that a mold used for making the ice making rack can have a small size. Thus, manufacturing cost of the mold can be reduced. Moreover, the ice making rack of the flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention is constituted by coupling the plurality of ice making cells, so that the number of rows in the ice making rack can be arbitrarily changed according to the ice-making capacity of the refrigerating machine. Even if the ice making rack is partially broken, only the broken portion can be replaced with a new one.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a configuration of an ice making unit;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of an ice making cell, and FIG. 3B is a front view of the ice making cell;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an ice making rack;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an ice making water flow-down portion;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of ice cube release members; and

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the ice making unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference sign 10 denotes an ice making unit. The ice making unit 10 includes a refrigerant tube 13 configured to air-tightly circulate a refrigerant therein, an ice making rack (not illustrated in FIG. 1 for description of internal structure) configured to support the refrigerant tube 13 and including ice molds, ice cube release members (not illustrated) configured to release and drop an ice cubes formed on the ice molds, and an ice making water flow-down portion 17 configured to supply ice making water to the refrigerant tube 13. An ice making water supply tube 51 is connected to the ice making water flow-down portion 17. The refrigerant tube 13 is connected to a compressor 53, a condenser 55, and an evaporator 57, which are mounted outside the ice making unit 10, to form a freezing cycle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a configuration of the ice making unit 10 of the flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference sign 11 denotes the ice making rack on which the refrigerant tube 13 is supported. The ice molds 15 are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerant tube 13. The ice cube release members 21 are fitted to the ice making rack 11. The ice cube release members 21 are coupled to an arm 23 driven by a motor 25. The ice making water flow-down portion 17 is connected to an upper part of the ice making rack 11. In the present invention, the ice making rack 11 is configured by coupling a plurality of ice making cells 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the ice making cell 11 a, and FIG. 3B is a front view of the ice making cell 11 a. A plurality of partition walls 18 are formed in the ice making cell 11 a, and the ice making cell is partitioned by the partition walls 18 (into eight in FIG. 3B). A refrigerant tube supporting portion 14 configured to support the refrigerant tube 13 is formed in the ice making cell 11 a. The ice molds 15 are formed along the refrigerant tube supporting portion 14, in the ice making cell 11 a. Each of the ice mold 15 is partially cut off to form an ice cube release member-fitting portion 19 configured to fit each of the ice cube release members 21.

Coupling members 12 a and 12 b configured to couple the plurality of ice making cells are formed in the ice making cell 11 a. The plurality of ice making cells are coupled by the coupling members.

The ice making cell 11 a is divided at a portion of a dividing line 20. The two divided members normally have the same shape.

Reference sign 16 denotes a fixing-rod insertion hole formed in the partition wall 18, and the fixing-rod insertion hole has an axis perpendicular to a tube axis direction of the refrigerant tube. A fixing rod having a predetermined length (fixing rod having a length equal to the length of approximately three rows of ice making cells when coupling three rows of ice making cells) is inserted into the fixing-rod insertion hole 16 to strongly couple the ice making cells.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the ice making rack 11 disassembled into the ice making cells 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c. The fixing rod inserted into the fixing-rod insertion hole 16 (not illustrated in FIG. 4) is drawn out to release fitting between the coupling members 12 a and 12 b, and the ice making rack 11 can be readily disassembled into the ice making cells.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the ice making water flow-down portion 17. An ice making water supply tube-connecting hole 33 is formed in the ice making water flow-down portion 17 having a box shape, and the ice making water flow-down portion 17 has a bottom surface in which a plurality of holes 31 are formed. Ice making water supplied from the ice making water supply tube-connecting hole 33 flows down to the ice making rack 11 through the holes 31.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the ice cube release members 21. The ice cube release members 21 are fixed on a turning shaft 22, and the turning shaft 22 is connected to the arm 23 driven by the motor. The arm 23 driven by the motor turns the ice cube release members 21 about the axes thereof parallel with the axis of the refrigerant tube 13. Thus, ice cubes formed on the ice molds are released and dropped.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the ice making unit 10. Operation of the flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 7.

First, ice making water is supplied into the box of the ice making water flow-down portion 17. The supplied ice making water flows down to the ice making rack 11 through the holes 31. Part of the ice making water flowing down to the ice making rack 11 is frozen on contact with the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerant tube 13 in which the refrigerant is circulated, and remaining ice making water further flows down to the lower side of the refrigerant tube. Thus, ice cubes are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerant tube 13, along the shape of the ice molds 15. In FIG. 7, reference sign 40 denotes an ice cube formed on the ice making rack 11. The ice cube is formed on all of the ice molds 15 formed in the ice making rack 11, but only one is illustrated in FIG. 7. When ice cubes formed on the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerant tube 13 grow to a predetermined size, circulation of the refrigerant is cut off in the refrigerant tube 13, and hot gas is circulated in the refrigerant tube 13 if desired to partially melt the ice cubes adhering to the outer peripheral portion of the refrigerant tube 13. Then, the ice cube release members 21 are turned about the axes thereof parallel with the axes of the refrigerant tube 13, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 7, to release and drop down the ice cubes from the ice molds 15. The dropped ice cubes are stocked under the ice making rack 11 (see FIG. 1).

The ice making rack 11 is made of a resin material. The resin material is not particularly limited, as long as the resin material employs a resin conforming to the Food Sanitation Act. For example, polyacetal (POM), polycarbonate (PC), EBS, PP can be employed.

The refrigerant tube 13 has a metal pipe having a circular or oval cross-section. The metal pipe uses a metal material having high heat conductivity such as stainless steel, copper, aluminum, tin, nickel, or an alloy thereof. The refrigerant tube 13 has a metal surface with which ice making water makes direct contact. That is, the metal surface is not covered with a resin or the like. A combination of the resin material (ice making rack) and the metal material (refrigerant tube 13) achieves both of superior ice cube holdability of the ice making rack during making ice cubes, and superior ice cube releasability upon releasing the ice cubes.

An ice making water-collecting portion configured to collect ice making water flowing down from the ice making rack 11 may be connected to a lower part of the ice making rack 11.

The ice making unit 10 is disposed in an ice making chamber kept at a low temperature. The ice making chamber can be cooled by circulating the refrigerant in the refrigerant tube 13 or by a cooling system additionally provided.

The ice making rack 11 is configured by coupling the plurality of ice making cells. Three ice making cells are coupled in FIG. 7, but the number of ice making racks is not limited to this description, and approximately two to ten ice making cells can be coupled. The number of ice making cells to be coupled can be suitably changed according to a capacity of a freezing system. That is, in the flow-down type ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the number of ice making cells to be coupled can be changed to freely change the number of rows in the ice making rack 11. Thus, various ice making racks can be configured using one mold for the ice making cell. Consequently, various ice making machines having different ice-making capacities can be provided inexpensively. Moreover, since the ice making rack 11 is dividable into the ice making cells, manufacturing cost of the mold can be reduced.

The ice molds formed in the ice making cells may have an identical shape, or may have different shapes. Coupling ice molds of different shapes can simultaneously form ice cubes of multiple shapes. Moreover, when the ice molds have the identical shape, even if an ice making cell is partially broken, only the broken cell can be replaced. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A flow-down type ice making machine comprising: an ice making unit including: a refrigerant tube connected to a refrigerating machine, the refrigerant tube configured to air-tightly circulate a refrigerant therein; an ice making rack configured to support the refrigerant tube, including ice molds formed along an outer periphery of the refrigerant tube; an ice making water flow-down portion connected to an upper part of the ice making rack, the ice making water flow-down portion configured to cause ice making water to flow down to the ice making rack; and ice cube release member turned about axis thereof parallel with an axis of the refrigerant tube to release each of ice cubes formed on the ice molds; and an ice making water supply tube configured to supply ice making water to the ice making water flow-down portion, the ice making rack being an ice making rack formed by removably coupling a plurality of ice making cells, the ice making cells being an ice making cell having a refrigerant tube supporting portion configured to support the refrigerant tube, and a fixing-rod insertion hole having an axis perpendicular to a tube axis direction of the refrigerant tube supported by the refrigerant tube supporting portion.
 2. The flow-down type ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein each of the ice making cells is an ice making cell having a coupling portion fitted to an adjacent ice making cell.
 3. The flow-down type ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the ice making rack is an ice making rack receiving a fixing rod inserted into the fixing-rod insertion hole of the ice making cell.
 4. The flow-down type ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the ice making rack is an ice making rack formed by coupling at least three ice making cells.
 5. The flow-down type ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the ice making rack is an ice making rack formed by coupling at least three ice making cells.
 6. A method of manufacturing an ice making rack of a flow-down type ice making machine according to claim 3, the method comprising: coupling ice making cells each having a refrigerant tube supporting portion configured to support a refrigerant tube, and a fixing-rod insertion hole having an axis perpendicular to a tube axis direction of the refrigerant tube supported by the refrigerant tube supporting portion; and inserting a fixing rod into the fixing-rod insertion hole. 